Paper short abstract:

There was an active animal welfare movement in Estonia which was banned when Estonia was occupied in World War II. This presentation discusses the reasons behind the movement's prohibition and provides a short overview of Estonian animal welfare, focusing on World War II.

Paper long abstract:

There was an active animal welfare movement in Estonia before World War II. In 1934, there were 22 animal welfare organizations in Estonia, along with several animal welfare journals, shelters, and animal clinics, among other initiatives. The members of the movement were numerous and active, working diligently to combat animal abuse and promote the ideology of animal welfare through various means.

The end of the movement came suddenly in 1940 when Estonia was occupied by the Soviet Union. Animal welfare organizations were shunned by the Soviet Union, as they were viewed as bourgeois, elitist and sentimental organizations which had no place in the communist society. The movement was banned, and its leaders were prosecuted.

This presentation will give an overview of the reasons behind the prohibition of the animal welfare movement in Soviet Estonia. It will also look into the events that followed the prohibition of the movement, including the attempts by animal welfare activists to re-establish the movement during German occupation. Furthermore, it will examine the post-war developments by exploring the biographies of the movements leaders.